Page 94 of Unraveled

He sighed, laying a hand on my shoulder. “I’ll be back in a couple hours. Call us if anything goes the wrong direction?”

“Absolutely.”

As soon as I was alone with her, I let out a ragged breath. “I’m a mess without you, Layla. Ugly cry and all. It’s not a good look for me.”

Her hand moved. It was slight, but it was enough for me to sit up so I could observe her. Nothing. The machines giving her breath made it hard to gauge if her movement had been a reflex or an actual, voluntary motion.

I called the nurse in. She checked Layla’s vitals. “She’s sedated, but you can talk to her. The doctor will be in soon to see if we can bring her out of sedation and remove the tube.”

“Thanks.” I took Layla’s hand, putting my face to her palm.

“I love you so much. I need you here with me. Don’t you know this isn’t how our story ends?”

Chapter Thirty-Four

Layla

My throat hurt. And my body felt heavy. My breath was labored, but steady. My eyes flickered open to see the face I’d been dreaming of.

Kellan.

We simply stared at one another while he held my hand, pressing it to his lips.

“Hi,” I whispered, my voice barely audible.

“Hi.” His eyes were red, his face unshaved. He looked like hell. I lifted my hand up to make a writing motion, my throat way too sore to speak more than a few words. He quickly looked around the room trying to find a pen and paper. He settled for handing me his phone so I could type into the notes section.

“You’ve been crying?” I typed.

“Yes.”

“You’re scared?”

Emotion clogged his throat when he looked at my words. “Yes.”

I took in a ragged breath before typing the next words. “I guess it’s my turn to be the strong one.”

Tears ran down his face, causing my own to fall.

“Just until you’re out of here. Then I’ll go back to being the strong one for the rest of our lives.”

I gave him a slight smile. The rest of our lives sounded pretty damn good about now. “How close was it?”

“Too close.” He swallowed hard. “I read your letter.”

My eyes widened, knowing the significance of that. The prognosis must have been awfully serious if Patty had given them the letters, and he’d read his. “You’re in trouble for not waiting.”

“I’ll take all the punishment you want to dish out so long as you’re here to give it.”

“Hm. Remember you said that. I feel like I got hit by a truck.”

“The infection was a tough one.” Hi voice broke on the last word.

“Don’t you dare blame yourself, Kellan Patrick.” I wish I could’ve underlined it.

“I won’t as long as you tell me this is real. That I’m not dreaming up this entire conversation.”

“If you’re dreaming it, then I’m dreaming it, too.”